Sebastopol looks to the future with general plan overhaul

Sebastopol officials will launch their 20-year overhaul of the city's general plan on Tuesday with a joint session of the city council and planning commission.

The meeting will feature an overview of the general plan review and amendment process, required under California law, city officials said.

The public is encouraged to attend.

A city's general plan serves as a kind of blueprint that outlines land-use and development goals, identifies priorities and guides its growth.

It covers everything from traffic circulation standards to park locations, bike lanes to building aesthetics, environmental considerations to economic issues.

The current, 228-page document was approved in 1994.

The city council is in the process of evaluating applicants it will appoint to a general plan advisory committee, a group of 15 or more people expected to serve over the next two years on recommendations for city officials.

But members of the public are urged to attend Tuesday's 6 p.m. meeting and provide input in the weeks ahead to inform the process that determines how the city will grow and change in the future.

The city has gone to some lengths already to try to ensure the general plan reflects broader community concerns and goals, including surveys and upcoming "visioning workshops," Planning Director Kenyon Webster said.

The first workshop, focusing on "vision, values and goals," is planned for Wednesday, April 30, at 6:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m., participants will focus on land use, transportation and traffic circulation.

All meetings will be held at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 South High Street, in Sebastopol.

The city has set up a web link to the general plan, meeting announcement and updates on the process. Find it <a href="http://sebastopol.generalplan.org">here</a>.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com.